Monday, June 20, 2016

DESTINATION: Berthoud Pass, Colorado

Like we mentioned in an early post our final camping destination, on our tour of the Rockies, was Grand Lake, Colorado. In order to reach Grand Lake we first had to go through Berthoud Pass.

We drove up that!?!

This pass, at 11,307 ft., is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado. The pass is located west of Denver and provides the fastest road access to Winter Park and a secondary route to Steamboat Springs from Denver and the Colorado Front Range. The pass is one of the most notoriously difficult passes in ﻿﻿﻿﻿Colorado for motorists, based on its height as well as the steep grades on both sides (6.3%) and the large number of switchbacks on the southern side of the pass.

Truck drove like a boss!

This was the first time we drove the new truck towing our trailer up such a grade and we were not sure how the truck would respond. There were several times that we watched the temperature gauge on the transmission fluid climb so high we thought we might need to pull over. We passed several trucks hauling cattle that were pulled over on, what little there was, of the side of the road. We could hear the protesting wails of the cattle as we drove by.

Above the timberline

Luckily, we made it through the pass with no trouble! We stopped at the top of the summit to take in the beautiful views, play in the snow, and read the interpretive signs that mark the Continental Divide.

Continental divide - We saw this sign many times on our tour of the Rockies

Gman wants to play in the snow!

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What does that sign say? I can't see it for all the snow piled up!

With the pass behind us we headed down and through Winter Park, Colorado, to our final camping destination of Elk Creek Campground in Grand Lake, Colorado!